3132 research outputs found
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Pulling Threads: An Inquiry into Cultural Identity, and Reconnection with Ancestral Knowledge through Art
Full text linkThis thesis paper documents artistic research using a blend of studio-based and scholarly approaches, delving into the history and cultural practices of Azerbaijani people, and the evolution of Azerbaijani culture amidst the backdrop of conquest by the Russian Empire and subsequent influences of the Soviet Union. Combining theories from Homi K. Bhabha with research creation, autoethnographic and decolonizing methodologies, it investigates how culture is affected by imperialism and political powers, and what happens to identity as a result. As an immigrant who lived in the Soviet and Post-Soviet times, and who has now spent over two
decades in the West, I explore notions of cultural hybridity and the fragmentation of diasporic experience. This project is aimed at reconciling my multifaceted identity and finding ways enhance a sense of belonging by reconnecting with ancestral knowledges through artmaking
Responsible, Sustainable Production and Consumption through the lens of Inclusion and Diversity.
Full text linkIn an era characterised by increased environmental concerns and a growing emphasis on
sustainability my Major research project (MRP) delves into the realm of Responsible,
Sustainable Production and Consumption through the lens of Inclusion and Diversity. My
definition of sustainability, for this project, is using services and related products which
respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimising the use of natural
resources and toxic materials as well as the emission of waste and pollutants over the life cycle
of the service or product so as not to jeopardise the needs of future generations (World
Commission on Environment and Development). For this project, diversity and inclusion are
essential lenses through which to understand, address, and advance sustainable production and
consumption practices.
My goal is to provide insightful analysis of the intersectionality between
sustainability, diversity, and inclusion, particularly focusing on how these factors influence production and consumption patterns within immigrant communities addressing particularly the immigrants of Toronto and develop approaches for supporting the adoption of environmentally friendly practices addressing the needs and particular circumstances in immigrants of our society. I will be looking to and involving the targeted users/community in the process a developing, identifying and evaluating existing or new strategies that improve
responsible production and consumption practices within these immigrant groups
Empowering spaces: Customizable furniture solutions for Toronto's mobile communities
Full text linkThe paper tries to investigate the influence of parametric design tools and digital fabrication to create customizable furniture solutions for Toronto’s mobile communities like International Students and Non-resident working class. The recent investigations done in the field of parametric design tools focuses on things like how it makes the designer creative or creating products that are never ideated alongside the end user and their precise needs. The problem is that modularity, multiple purposes and customizability is being brought into the market without bringing the end user to the designing table. The methods used in this paper are based on human centred design approaches of co-design with the end user to create prototypes which can then be analysed by user testing to gather feedback and create iterations to better computational or generative algorithms. This study found evidence that algorithms created for customization of furniture by involving the end user at every step of the stage creates solutions that have intuitive use cases which the intent for was never there. What emerged are customizations that can help produce preferences for the end user at hand to provide agency in their daily activities. The research provided the base of what kind of customizations can be desired by the end user and how a rigorous study can be conducted after this exploratory research to better optimize the algorithms and also the user interface of how the customizations can be done by the end user
Interpreting Nonverbal Cues Through Sound: Exploring Accessibility for BLV Individuals in Online Communication Using Cinematic Media and Sound Design
Full text linkNonverbal cues play a critical role in everyday communication, yet much of this information remains inaccessible to blind and low-vision (BLV) individuals, particularly in digital and remote settings. The study explores how alternative auditory strategies including tone of voice, sound effects, music, and verbal descriptions can potentially support the interpretation of nonverbal information in online communication platforms. The study investigates how these modes function in relation to key dimensions such as iconicity, affordance, multimodality, and embodied meaning-making. To examine perception, media clips from films and animated shows were used to identify how nonverbal cues are interpreted through characters’ vocal tone, body movement, and facial expressions, and to analyze how integrated audio elements such as music and sound effects contribute or disrupt meaning. Through co-designing, these examples helped participants reflect on their own sense-making processes and highlight which cues were perceptible or missed. To transition to more real-life contexts, scripted Zoom call scenarios were introduced to simulate online communication, allowing participants to experience and evaluate how auditory cues adapted from their media interpretations could function in relatable, remote conversations. Findings reveal that each auditory alternative contributes differently to meaning-making: tone of voice offers expressive immediacy, sound effects can convey action or emotional tone (with varying levels of abstraction), music supports mood-setting and affective interpretation, and verbal descriptions help fill semantic and contextual gaps. Tables composed of summarised findings and future recommendations were developed for a deeper understanding of the affordances and limitations of the sound cues in nonverbal cue accessibility for BLV individuals and also to serve as a foundation for designing more inclusive communication systems in online communication spaces
TacTile: Designing, Developing, and Playing a Personal eTextile Musical Instrument
Full text linkThis thesis explores the design, development, and use of a touch-sensitive digital musical instrument called TacTile that is inspired by elements of the electric guitar and piano. The project features an eTextile-based matrix sensing method, custom software implementation and digital fabrication processes that inform its tactile, expressive and responsive qualities.
This study asks two interrelated primary research questions: what can be learned by designing, developing and using a new electronic musical instrument that focuses on my needs as a musician—specifically tactility and control intimacy; and how the design, development and use of this instrument alter the experience of making music.
Following a Research Through Design methodology, this project employs Iterative Prototyping to refine the instrument. The instrument is evaluated through Reflective Use for specific musical tasks by practicing and performing with it.
This thesis culminates in a discussion about TacTile’s unique properties, gestural affordances, and idiomaticity—examining how these aspects shape music creation through the instrument
Manufacturing a Woman to Order: Exploring Nonhuman Agency and Gendered AI in East Asia through Machinima and Virtual Production
Full text linkThis thesis examines the construction and representation of non-human characters in a highly gendered, AI-driven future in East Asia. It culminates in the CGI-animated short film Manufacturing a Woman to Order, which follows a female AI agent and explores the intersection of technological progress and gender politics. By focusing on the creative process of game engine cinema, the research merges speculative narrative and interdisciplinary worldbuilding with virtual production filmmaking, integrating non-human agents into social discourse. Through this integration, the thesis underscores the persistence of gender stereotypes in AI design and calls for a critical reassessment of the sociocultural impacts of technological advancements on East Asia’s future
Embracing Coexistence: urban design strategies for creating wildlife-friendly cities.
Full text linkCities are especially important for human development; it is where people live, build communities, work, learn, and thrive. In cities, human and technological development coincide. But, while building urban and increasingly dense spaces for people’s comfort, other beings are in effect forced to adapt to the ever-growing and changing human habitats. Additionally, major challenges such as climate change resulting in wildfires, flooding, and extreme weather conditions are forcing wild animals and invertebrates to shift closer, if not entirely into human occupied areas. The intense urban densification of the world has affected non-human beings that used to roam freely in those unoccupied areas. Some animals are permanently displaced, while others have successfully adapted to the new human centric environment. Even though wild animals have been able to adapt, cities have not been designed for them, which complicates the way in which they can survive, even as they evolve to co-exist with human urbanites.
With an inclusive design approach, this project recognizes both the differences and similarities between human inhabitants and ‘urbanized’ wild animals, as part of having a better understanding to improve the coexistence of species within an urban context. It examines and outlines a range of contemporary initiatives that have been developed and proposed with a focus on designing for animals. The project also gathers information from interviews with experts in wild animal welfare, animal ethics, and sustainable urban planning. In addition to the interviews, data is also collected from an anonymous survey open to people that lives in Toronto.
As a result of the research, initial guidelines are proposed to either design new cities or adapt existing urban centres with a more inclusive strategy. These guidelines are organized in three principal areas: infrastructure and planning, government policies and community involvement, and biodiversity conservation and animal welfare. While the project concludes with proposed guidelines, it is understood that it is just an initial stage, and that the journey to have animals, nature, and human beings successfully co-exist in urban centres is an ongoing project in constant adaptation to the rapid and significant changes we are seeing in the environment today
Desire Path
Full text linkIn a world where digital technology shapes how we think, feel and interact, Desire Path is an exploration of media, philosophy, and the act of resistance. This research stems from a deep curiosity about how digital systems don’t just reflect our desires but actively shape and control them – through attention commodification, surveillance capitalism, and algorithmic governance. Inspired by thinkers like Byung-Chul Han, Deleuze & Guattari, Foucault, and Daoist philosophers Laozi and Zhuang Zhou, Desire Path critically examines how hyper-mediated environments influence identity, autonomy, and the way we tell stories. At its core, this research is about reclaiming slowness, contemplation, and depth in an era of endless digital distractions. By weaving together Eastern and Western perspectives on desire and control, Desire Path proposes a new way of thinking about media—one that resists hyper-productivity and algorithmic determinism, instead fostering more meaningful artistic engagement and storytelling
Life Cycles, Loss, and Leadership: Designing Regenerative Futures in the Performing Arts
Full text linkThrough systems, foresight, and design research, this MRP explores what systems and mindsets are influencing performing arts nonprofits today and imagines a bold future where organizational life cycles and endings are reframed as vital and regenerative practices that sustain the people, the practice, and the power of the form itself.
The output is a written report and the description of an Aspirational Future where the value of the arts is redefined, leadership is reimagined, and the sector has embraced impermanence and regenerative organizational practices.
This is accompanied by two artifacts and various calls to collective action
Machine Yearning: An Audiovisual Exploration of a Hypothetical Future
Full text linkMachine Yearning is the title of the audio-visual album that explores a fictional near-future world
through the eyes of an unnamed extra-terrestrial technological entity. The project also showcases a
shift in my practice and the way I develop audio-visual work, serving the role of documenting an
experimental stage in my creation process. While in the past my audio-visual sets have consisted of
purely improvisational performances utilising eurorack format modular synthesisers (both audio
and video synthesisers, usually with the video synthesisers reacting to the audio via control voltages).
Machine Yearning is instead more of a produced, studio album that consists of a varied, experimental
approach using a multitude of AI technologies in conjunction with audio-reactive softwares
like TouchDesigner to create the visuals, and cybernetic patching combined with manually
played elements to create the music. Machine Yearning explores the concept of the ‘uncanny valley’
originally coined by Mori in 1970. The album aims to explore content that blurs the lines between
the real, the unreal and the constantly expanding realm that exists in-between the two